We found the worst example of a C5Z that was un-wrecked and clean title, and brought it back to life.
Ryan “Frenchy” Srbljan – Corvette Care
Thee car now known as “Winky the Shop Pig” started the way most of our in-house demo builds start. We got a phone call from a friend about a Black over Black 140,000 mile C5Z that was hidden away in Kentucky, and was an abandoned race car build. Sounds EXACTLY like something we’d buy.
We made a phone call, hitched up the trailer, and headed South.
Upon arrival, we were graced with a current owner (and notably good dude) who wanted us to meet him at the local Fire Department. This was great news, as it meant the car was running and driving, not a condition that all of our shop demo cars started life with. What arrived however, while technically “drivable” was far from a complete car. No fenders, no dash, and a poorly fitted carbon fiber hood from the late 90’s fast & furious era. Upon plug-in and scan, it had over 160 codes, mostly from the process of “thinning” the harness for race car purposes, a failed eBCM, and plenty of fouled sensors. The price was right, the motor and trans were good, so in the trailer it went and it came home. With only one working headlight, she was referred to as “the winky corvette”.
We will spare you every intimate detail of the build, and let the photos really do the talking, but we started with rebuilding the interior of Winky. stripped to tub, she was heavily cleaned, sound deadener applied, a new Jute padding Kit, and finally a custom carpet kit pressed from Onyx Black Mercedes carpet. Takeout seats from a 5,000 mile C5Z were installed, and then we were on to addressing electrical.
The initial build plan was for a basic Heads, Cam, Headers, Intake setup on a mild suspension. Something that kept us in CAM-S for autocross, but was also driveable everyday on the street. With 140,000 miles on the clock, we were building it as a driver. The first round of modifications ended up being a simple set of Kooks long tube headers, and MGW Shifter, and a Vararam Intake system, and a tune. Combined with portions of a new factory harness, a battery relocation to the rear of the car, and a stereo upgrade, we buttoned up the electrical issues. Additionally, we solved all of our braking issues with a set of C6Z calipers and power stop drilled and slotted rotors with Porterfield R4S pads. Enough braking force to throw you out of your seat, so we completed the interior with a simple Harness Bar from Brey Krause. With the interior done, we were on to the exterior.
Onto the overall “Character” of this particular build, we opted initially to go with a narrow body setup, and a new factory hood. Linked with a set of TSW wheels, we were OK with the look, but decided mid-stream to go ahead and put rear wide body fenders on the car to utilize one of our favorite factory wheels, the C6 Grand Sport Wheels. For SCCA “Rule Book” reasons we kept the factory springs and shocks, and lowered the car on lowering bolts. With a fresh alignment, we put Winky on the road as a daily driver for nearly a year in this trim. Lots of time paint correcting and polishing, and ongoing refinement to cleanliness.
But let’s be honest… you’re not here to see an old tired C5Z be turned back into a driver. You want to see something be taken to the next level of performance, and in the winter of 2022, that’s what we did with Winky. We wanted to build a stock block C5Z with 1000whp, and show it to the world, and we figured the best way to get there was with boost and e58, so we dove into the real heart of what Winky is now. Every bracket blasted and coated, every bolt replaces with ARP parts, and every bearing replaced… We were ready to push this 5.7 to it’s limits.
First pulls with a 4″ SC pulley rendered low boost of 6 pounds, on non-e85. Winky ran AWESOME under these conditions at just over 650whp. A quick change to a 3.8″ pulley, and landed firmly over 700whp on a completely drivable street setup. But again, we really just in the break in and test & tune stage of the build. Winky was put back on the street in this trim for about 6 months, while we began the hunt for a C6Z rear cradle take-out for an upgraded TR6060 trans and rear end, and while that was being sourced, we completed the e85 conversion, added a Carbon splitter & side skirts, and added a set of Trackspec Hood Vents & Wickers. The biggest reason for this change was to convert the C5 from a bottom breather to a front breathing car, and to achieve that our front splitter included a complete lower Carbon Fiber air tray. The massively increase air flow dropped our I/C temps almost 25* at highway speeds, but it pressurized the engine bay, meaning the hood vents were needed to evacuate that air.
So on to the final performance runs of Winky, tapped on e85, and sporting a new 3.6″ pulley on her A&A kit, we made final runs at 831WHP, and stopped after a single pull exclusively because a stock T56 and C5 Rear end will absolutely NOT handle those power levels. While we hunted a rear cradle replacement, Winky went into another winter of storage.
We decided to return Winky back to a drivable trim level at the tail end of 2023, and realized that the plan to complete the rear drivetrain upgrades were further out than planned. The ECM was swapped during some tuning, and the Pulley Size dropped back to the 3.8″ pulley. Retuned on pump gas, she made right at 700WHP, and spent a few months making the rounds at end of season car shows before heading back into storage. And that’s how she sits now. Ready for a new home, and if desired, someone to complete the rear drive train upgrades, and crank her back up to 11.
- Engine Build
- BTR Stage 2 Centrifugal Camshaft
- A&A Black Supercharger Kit (V3 Si Trim)
- -10an Triple Fuel Pump Assembly (Holley)
- GM OEM E85 Sensor
- 1050 IDX Injectors
- CHE Trunnion Upgrade
- GM Performance LS7 Lifters & New Trays
- New Bottom End & Camshaft Bearings
- MSD Intake
- Holley Fuel Rail Assembly
- New Belt Drive SFI Rated Balancer
- New Waterpump
- New Melling Oil Pump
- New Timing Set
- Interior Build
- OEM Low Mileage C5Z Seats
- Replacement Upgraded Carpeet Kit
- Complete Sound Deadener & Padding
- Harness Bar
- Rear Battery Relocation
- Double Din Stereo Upgrade
- A-Pillar Innovations Boost & e85 Gauges
- Carbon Steering Wheel
- Exterior Build
- Carbon Creations Wide Body Rear Fenders
- OEM Grand Sport C6 Wheelset
- Complete Vette Lights LED Conversion
- Knight Drive TV Demon Headlights
- Fish Stix Carbon Splitter & Lip Kit
- Track Spec Hood Vents & Wickers
